Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: SAGE 2YC Resources for the Geoscience Community

Carol J. Ormand, SERC, Carleton CollegeR. Heather Macdonald, Geology, College of William and Mary

Eric Baer, Geology, Highline CollegeRachel Beane, Earth and Oceanographic Science, Bowdoin College

Jan Hodder, OIMB, University of OregonJohn McDaris, SERC, Carleton College

Kristin O’Connell, SERC, Carleton College

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation through grants 1525593, 1524605, 1524623 & 1524800.

Overview● The SAGE 2YC: Faculty as Change Agents project● Project resources for the geoscience community

● Materials for professional development workshops● Diversity in action: Broadening

participation through strategies for inclusion

● Supporting students' sense of belonging● Building students' science identity

● SAGE Musings● Growing collection of >50 posts, 18 of

which are relevant to broadening participation in STEM

SAGE 2YC: Faculty as Change Agents project goals

● Build a sustainable national networkof 2YC leaders (change agents) who catalyze change at multiple levels from their courses to institutions in their local regions and within the community of practice;

● Implement high-impact evidence-based instructional and co-curricular practices that support the academic success of all students, broaden participation, and promote students' professional pathways into geoscience; and

● Investigate models of professional development for full-time and adjunct 2YC geoscience faculty that promote the cycle of innovation, where faculty learn from the research of others, make changes in their own practice, and share what they have learned with the education community.

SAGE 2YC project resources

● Incorporate research into practice○ Promote and support the participation,

success, and continuation of a diverse population of students in geoscience courses, programs, and careers

● Promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion at institutional and national scales

● Model transformative change in academia

● Are designed for re-use

Materials for professional development workshops

Developed for our SAGE 2YC faculty workshop sessions● Diversity in action: Broadening participation through strategies for inclusion● Supporting students' sense of belonging● Building students' science identity

Follow the principles of effective workshop design:● Session activities follow directly from the goals● Participants are actively engaged in learning● Materials and activities are evidence-based● Sessions are planned to the minute, including

time for reflection and action planning

Diversity in action: Broadening participation through strategies for inclusion

Session goals: Participants will ● Learn about the research on issues of broadening participation;● Explore strategies to design an inclusive classroom and geoscience program; and● Develop ideas for implementation of inclusion strategies in their work.

Think-pair-share discussions: scenarioPresentation: research on the lack of diversity in geoscience & STEMGallery walk: Posters about strategies for inclusion, followed by In-depth small group discussionsAction planning

Workshop session structure and materials:30 minutes20 minutes50 minutes60 minutes40 minutes

Diversity in action: Broadening participation through strategies for inclusion

Think-pair-share discussions about scenarios

Demoralized by my colleaguesOur college is recognized as a Hispanic–serving Institution but rarely do we see Hispanic students in the geoscience courses. Knowing that diversifying the geoscience work force is a national priority I asked to have this topic added to the agenda of our upcoming departmental meeting. I presented some information on this issue that I found on the AGI website and suggested that we think of ways to encourage Hispanic students to take our courses. [Colleagues’ responses were less than enthusiastic….]

Diversity in action: Broadening participation through strategies for inclusion

Presentation: research on the lack of diversity in geoscience & STEM

Diversity in action: Broadening participation through strategies for inclusion Gallery walk: Posters about

strategies for inclusion

Supporting Students’ Sense of BelongingSession goals: Participants will ● Be able to define "belonging uncertainty" and describe how it undermines student

academic success;● Know about several key strategies for fostering students' sense of belonging; and● Have a plan to implement at least one new strategy to foster students' sense of

belonging in one or more courses.

ReflectionPresentation, including a think-pair-share discussion about an interventionJigsaw using excerpts from research literatureAction planningWrap-up discussion / Q&A with session leaders

Workshop session structure and materials:3 minutes20 minutes50 minutes10 minutes5 minutes

Supporting Students’ Sense of BelongingPresentation summarizing key points from the research literature

Key Findings from the Research on Sense of Belonging● Everyone is susceptible to concerns about social belonging

● Belonging uncertainty – is especially strong at transition points, such as moving from high school to college or from a 2YC to a 4YCU (Aguilar et al., 2014, Stephens et al., 2014).

● Underrepresented students (including socioeconomic, race, gender, disabilities) are disproportionately susceptibleto concerns about social belonging, and these concerns may negatively affect their academic performance (e.g. Aguilar et al., 2014; Walton & Cohen, 2011)

○ Academic and social setbacks, which are a normal part of transitioning to college, can instead feel like evidence of not belonging. This can be compounded by stereotype threat and personal stress.

● There are many tools to foster belonging and normalize transitions have proven effective, including mentoring, peer cohorts, active learning, incorporating examples of diverse scientists, connecting content to careers, infusing societal relavance as well as noncognitive interventions. • Short activities in the classroom

• Can dramatically mitigate belonging uncertainty• Positive GPA impacts• Benefit all students

Supporting Students’ Sense of BelongingPresentation, including a think-pair-share discussion about an intervention

Is this an effective social-psychological intervention? Why or why not?

Professor Jones wants all her students in a class for potential majors to succeed, and she hopes to increase the diversity of geoscientists. So she schedules a weekly help session for students who might be having difficulty, and she personally invites all the women and minority students to attend. (Modified from Aguilar et al., 2014, which has additional examples)

Supporting Students’ Sense of BelongingJigsaw using excerpts from research literature

Building Students’ Science Identity

Session goals: Participants will learn about and share strategies to ● Infuse career information in class, on-line, and outside of class;● Develop our students’ awareness of the breadth of careers in geoscience; and● Help our students to identify as scientists.

Presentation about science identity, images of geoscientists, and an example of a ”geoscientist profile,” modeled after Schinske et al.’s “scientist spotlights”Gallery walk about what we can to do help our students build their science identities

Workshop session structure and materials:20 minutes

50 minutes

Building Students’ Science IdentityPresentation about science identity, images of geoscientists, and an example of a ”geoscientist profile,” modeled after Schinske et al.’s “scientist spotlights”

Building Students’ Science IdentityGallery walk about what we can to do help our students build their science identities

Science Identity questions:• What can we do in class (seated or online) to develop science identity in our

students?• What can we do outside of class to develop science identity in our students?

Science Self-Efficacy questions:• What can we do in class (seated or online) to increase a student's science

self- efficacy?• What can we do outside of class to increase a student's science self-

efficacy?

Questions about what Geoscientists do:• What can we do in class (seated or online) to develop an understanding of

what a geoscientist does?• What can we do outside of class to develop an understanding of what a

geoscientist does?

SAGE MusingsGrowing collection of more than 50 blog posts, 18 of which are relevant to broadening participation in STEM. For example:● Who has the capacity to succeed in STEM?● How social-psychological interventions change

academic trajectories● Supporting women in STEM● The power of affirming your values● Cultivating students’ voices● Geoscientist biographical sketches● Women and minorities in science and

engineering

● Evidence-based strategies for mitigating stereotype threat

● Involving students in authentic research

● Micro-validation

Resources for the Geoscience Community

● Materials for professional development workshops● Diversity in action: Broadening participation through

strategies for inclusion● Supporting students' sense of belonging● Building students' science identity

● SAGE Musings● Growing collection of >50 posts, 18 of which are

relevant to broadening participation in STEM

● and more on the project website: https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/index.html

https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/index.html